Brown Capital Management LLC Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Brown Capital Management LLC lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,178.45 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,090.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $993.70.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.